This report comes by way of the NewsVirginian in Waynesboro, Virginia.
A nurse and former employee of Avante Assisted Living in Waynesboro has filed a suit against the facility in federal court alleging she was fired for reporting that a supervisor directed nurses to falsely claim they tried to revive a dead resident. Patricia Ann Patterson, a former human resources manager at the Waynesboro assisted living facility, states in the eight-page complaint that two nurses approached her about the incident five days after the death of resident, Irene Campbell.
According to the suit, when the nurses called the assistant nursing director to pronounce the resident’s death, they were instructed to alter Campbell’s medical record to show they tried to resuscitate her for 15 minutes. It appears the resident was a “full code” which required her care providers to provide CPR in the event she became unconscious.
Patterson advised the nurses to report the unethical conduct to Avanté’s corporate ethics line and provided them with the telephone number, the lawsuit states. Patterson also called Avanté corporate headquarters to personally report what she heard. Patterson was fired the next day.
My Take: We will see what facts come to the surface as the suit progresses…but this is a disturbing report…and if proven accurate…heads should roll!